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April 16, 2007

The fruit of
the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and
also desirable for gaining wisdom. Genesis 3:6 Canada

may produce more original work on Hegel than any other
nation. David MacGregor, Literary Review of Canada
(February 1994)

The fact that the well known Canadian philosopher, Charles
Taylor, won the enviable Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or
Discoveries About Spiritual Realities in 2007 has been noted and noticed by
many. There are few that have won this prestigious award, and fewer Canadians
have taken the trophy home.Taylor
did so, and did so in a way that has made many a Canadian proud of their native
born boy. But, philosophy is about asking critical questions, and critical
questions keep us from slipping intohagiography. Why did Taylor win the Templeton Prize, what
questions need to be asked of Taylor, what intellectual agenda does he serve
and are there other Canadians of equal worth and merit that might have won the
Templeton Prize but did not?

My earliest memories of Eddie are from when I was a little
girl. My family attended Central Heights MB
Church, and from where we sat, each and every Sunday – In the first row of the
balcony on the far right side – I had an ideal vantage from which to view the
faithful crew of Twin Firs, always located on the main floor, near the front,
on the far left side. Week after week,
the faces became familiar, as did their individual quirks and
personalities. To me, Eddie was the
Downs Syndrome guy that would occasionally utter what I thought were untimely
and loud vocalizations. I remember,
“That’s right!”, and many a hearty, “Amen”. I noticed his tendency to stand up and conduct either the choir or the
congregation during times of song. My thoughts about Eddie and his motley crew of
companions, as well as my observations about how caregivers, the church
leadership and congregation related to this population of “special” individuals,
made an impression on me.

April 06, 2007

“A cynic is a person who knows the price of everything and
the value of nothing” (Oscar Wilde)

“I have seen all of the things that are done under the sun;
all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecc. 1:14)

The cynic
is a wounded idealist. In order to summon a true bitterness toward the world,
it is first necessary to greatly believe that the universe is fair and that you
will be loved unconditionally. This idealism is especially evident when you
spend time with adolescents. They are starry-eyed and truly believe in happy
endings. When I was a history teacher, they always insisted on being told which
side was in the wrong and which was in the right. There had to be a good guy
and a bad guy. You see, the idealist looks at the world through rose-colored
glasses: people are good, the poor are noble and the Sixties are still with us.
“Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody try to get together, try
to love everybody right now.” And look! Here comes the New Jerusalem floating
out of the heavens!

The Real Terror Network has
brought forth the understanding of issues in terrorism and human rights in
specific to the post World War II era. Herman, formerly a professor of finance and co-author with Noam Chomsky,
covers a broad spectrum of terrorist issues ranging from propaganda to
injustices. He educates the reader by
giving an understanding of the National Security States in mainly a Latin
American context and where the United States is heavily interested. Herman brings to light that since World War II,
the growth of terrorism by states has increased enormously and that terrorism
carried out by individuals – without association to states – has
decreased. In addition, what is brought
to surface is that terrorism is needed to carry out National Security State initiatives which
includes preventing self determination for poor countries. The Real Terror Network espouses a left of
center view which, interestingly, speaks equally of fact in today’s war on
terror from a right of centre perspective.